Ino the Matchmaker Part 1: Where you Belong
by shifter-of-time
Summary: Ino is the school's matchmaker. Ino is dating Shikamaru. Temari likes Shikamaru. What will happen? AU. TemaShika. ShikaTema. ShikamaruXTemari. TemariXShikamaru. Currently on hiatis.
1. Wanting Him

**Shifter of Time:** This is the first story that I have decided to post. My best friend, Weaver of Light, gave me the idea for this story. You should really take a look his stories if you like yaoi (boyxboy) pairings. There, Weaver. I said it.

**Weaver of light**: Yay! If you do look at them, then leave me a review!

**Temari**: Isn't there someting you need to say, Shifter?

**Shifter of Time**: Oh yeah! I, saddly, don't own any of the charachters in this story. Even the one tht looks like I made it up. She belongs to Weaver. Heck, I don't even own the idea. I only own the idea. :(

**Shikamaru**: You are so troublesome, Shifter. Just read the story, people.

**Ino the Matchmaker**

_Part 1: The First Match She Made_

Chapter 1

The bell had just rung for school to let out & Temari was walking to her car to wait for her brothers, Gaara & Kankuro, when she heard some one call her name. She turned around & saw that it was Shikamaru, her best friend & the guy she had had a crush on since she had had a crush on since she had first transferred to this school about a year ago. He was currently dating Ino, the beautiful & preppy cheerleading captain.

"Hey Shika. What's up?" she said as she stopped in order to allow him to catch up to her.

"Just heading to the gym to watch Ino's cheer practice. This is getting, for lack of a better term, troublesome," he replied, making Temari laugh. "So what are you up to?"

"Just heading to the car to wait for the twins," she replied. "Those two are driving me up the freakin' wall with their crazy schedules. Between Gaara's tutoring job with Matsuri & Kankuro's constant search for robot parts, I rarely ever know where those two are."

"That sounds like them. I heard that Kankuro has almost gotten one of his robots completed," Shikamaru said.

"Yep, & I think that he's already got a buyer for it. I really don't have a problem with it as long as they continue to pass. Since they are gone so much lately, the house actually stays clean for more than a day or two & I have time to myself & for my job without having to stay up at all hours of the night," Temari said thankfully.

"You're lucky that you could find a job you can do at home & that pays well," Shikamaru commented. "Well, I better go. I've sta- never mind. I just gotta go."

"'Kay," she replied, chuckling. "We need to hang out together sometime. Since you & Ino have gotten together, I haven't been able to talk to you much without Ino around."

"That sounds good. I'll see ya tomorrow," he said, walking off.

Temari wanted to tell him that she loved him, but she knew that he loved Ino, not her, so she just said good-bye & headed to the car. She sighed as she thought I wish that I could get up the courage to tell him, but I can't. He'd never fall for a girl like me, anyways. When she got to the car, Gaara & Kankuro were waiting for her.

"Where were you?" Kankuro asked her.

"I got held up by Shikamaru," she replied as they got in the car & she started it. "So who's going where & what time will you be home?"

"I'm going to the skate park today," Gaara said as he held up his skateboard. "I promised Shukaku & Ryuu that I would meet them there. I'll be home at about 7:00." Shukaku was a skater & Gaara's best friend. He had long hair that he died silver & wore in a ponytail. Usually, what he wore depended on his mood. He & Gaara were like brothers. Ryuu was also a skater & Shukaku's girlfriend. They had been together since before Temari & her brothers had moved here. She had shoulder length hair that she dyed reddish black & a style that was a mix between Goth, emo, punk, & skater.

"I gotta go to the mall to get some more parts for the robots," Kankuro said. "Kiba's meeting me there. I'll be home in about an hour or so." Kiba was Kankuro's best friend & helped him work on his robots.

"Okay, you two know the drill," Temari said as she pulled out of the school parking lot. "Dinner will be ready at about 7:45, so have your homework done. Don't bug me when y'all get home. I will be working. Only bug me if you need help with your homework." She pulled up in front of the skate park. Luckily it was right across the street from the mall. "Now shoo! Call me if you're going to be late or need a ride."

"I will, Temari," Gaara said as he & Kankuro got out. "I'll get a ride home from Shukaku."

"I'll most likely get a ride from Kiba," Kankuro replied. "He has to go right by the house anyway."

"I'll see you two later, then," Temari said as they closed their car doors.

When she got home about ten minutes later, she went in & got straight to work. She worked typing & printing papers for Principal Tsunade. It was annoying work, but it was really easy & she was paid $300 per week to do it. That was plenty of money for her & her brothers to live on because Kankuro & Gaara each earned money on their own. Gaara earned it with his & Shukaku's skateboarding competitions, & Kankuro earned it by fixing robots & computers with Kiba. By the time she was done with her work for the day, Kankuro was home. It was 6:00 so Temari did her homework & made sure that the house was clean. By the time she was done with that, Gaara was home & it was time for her to start dinner. Just as she had predicted, dinner was ready at 7:45.

"Boys," she called down the stairs to the basement, "come set the table! Dinner's almost ready!"

"We'll be there in a moment!" she heard Gaara's voice call back up the stairs of the basement where he & Kankuro were working on a robot. Heaven only knows why Kankuro was allowing Gaara to help him on this robot. He probably had a deadline to meet. About two minutes later, Temari heard footsteps coming up the basement stairs & the twins emerged, covered in oil & grease.

AFTER DINNER

While they were cleaning up after dinner, Temari said, "Tomorrow's Friday & I was planning on inviting Sakura to stay over." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Gaara blush when she mentioned Sakura. She knew that Gaara liked Sakura, & his blush had just proven her theory. "What are you two planning on doing this weekend?"

"I was planning on inviting Kiba over to help me get this robot finished if it was okay with you," Kankuro replied. "I've got a buyer for it, but I've gotta get it finished this weekend for the person to buy it. He says that he'll give me $1000 for this one."

"That's fine with me. We could use the money," she replied.

"Thanks, sis," he replied. "I'll tell him tomorrow."

"Shukaku, Ryuu, & I have a skating competition Saturday," Gaara said. "I was thinking about riding home with him tomorrow & staying the might. I'll be home after the competition."

"That's fine. How much is the prize this time?" she asked.

"$550," Gaara replied. "Our rent is due soon, so we need the money. I'm sure that we can win."

"You're right, Gaara," she said, loading the dishwasher. "We really do need the money. If we don't want to move back in with our dad, then we need to prove to the government that we can fend for ourselves & stay in school."

"I wish that Mom hadn't died," Gaara said quietly. "Then we wouldn't have to go through all this

"So do we, Gaara," Kankuro said, hugging his brother.

They were done in the kitchen so they all went into the living room & sat on the couch so that they could talk.

"Things were so much easier back then. Well, except for the abuse," Temari said, sighing quietly.

"I feel like it's my fault that she died," Gaara said quietly. "If I hadn't made Father so angry that night, she might still be alive."

"Gaara, it's not your fault. You didn't know that you were going to make him so mad that he would kill our mom," Temari said, hugging him.

"We all angered him," Kankuro replied. "It is no one's fault except his. At least she's in a better place now."

Their father was a drunk & had abused all of them, their mother included. Gaara was the one who had had the courage to stand up for them, & for that their mother had had to pay the price. It had been a night that they knew they would never forget. The night that Gaara had stood up to their father & their mother had paid the price for them. She would never forget the night she had watched her father shoot their mother & then point the gun at her, Gaara, & Kankuro. It was the night that Gaara had carved the Japanese kanji for "love" on his forehead.

When they had first transferred here, they had been haunted by the memory. For Temari, the memory hadn't haunted her near as bad since she had met Shikamaru. Shikamaru. He was the best guy Temari had ever known. Sure he was lazy, but that made her love him even more. She constantly had to remind herself that they could never be together & that he loved Ino, not her.

She must have blushed because Gaara said, "You're thinking about Shikamaru, aren't you?"

"Why would I be thinking about him?" Temari asked nervously.

"'Fess up, Temari. You & I both know you like him," Gaara teased her.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa… back it up. Temari, you LIKE that lazy ass? Since when?" Kankuro asked, confused.

"Sure she does. She just won't admit it," Gaara said, smirking. It wasn't often that he got to make his older sister blush. "Don't worry about it Tem. He likes you more than you think"

"Kankuro, do NOT call him that. EVER. You may be my brother, but I am NOT afraid to hurt you, & we need to go to bed," Temari said quickly, before Gaara could say anything more. "You two need to take showers & go to bed. I'm outta here. Good-night, boys."

"Night, Temari," they said as she went to her room.

When she got to her room, she changed into her night clothes & lay down on her bed. As Temari was lying in bed trying to get to sleep, she thought about what Gaara had said. What did Gaara mean? There's no way that he could like me as more than a friend. He likes Ino, not me. I'll ask Sakura about it tomorrow. Maybe she can tell me what he meant, she thought as she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**Shifter of Time**: Was that good?

**Weaver of Light**: Leave her your answers in the form of a review. Reviews are like an author's cookies & she won't post another chapter until she gets 5 reviews.

**Gaara** (has just finnished reading story): YOU MADE ME LIKE SAKURA!?!?

**Shifter of Time**: Oh shit! *Takes off running with Gaara right behind her* I'll see you next time! Bye!

**Gaara** (still running): If she's still alive when I get through with her.

**Carpenter of Darkness**: Don't you dare kill her! *Takes off after Gaara*


	2. Confused

**Shifter of Time:** It took me a while, but I finally got it done. The only reason it took me so long was school & my computer decided to be on crack.

**Gaara:** *has a broken arm* Shifter, tell your boyfriend to back off, please.

**Carpenter of Darkness:** You deserved it. *shrugs* Stay away from her & I'll leave you alone.

**Weaver of Light:** *coughoverprotectivecough*

**Shifter of Time:** -_-' Leave Panda-Chan alone, Carpenter. He's not being over protective, Weaver. *smacks Weaver on the head & Weaver glares at her*

**Carpenter of Darkness:** Fine. I'll leave him alone.

**Gaara:** Thank you, Shifter & I'm not even going to ask you not to call me Panda-Chan 'cuz I know you won't listen. Just continue with the story.

**Shifter of Time:** Oh, before I forget, somebody say the disclaimer!

**Temari:** I'll say it this time & only because your boyfriend is the first person to break my brother's arm. Shifter of Time does not own Naruto or any characters used in this story.

**Shifter of Time:** ^_^ Thank you, Temari & is that true? The first person?

**Gaara:** *glares at Carpenter* Yes & only because I dont have the demon inside me anymore.

**Sakura:** Just shut the hell up & let the people read the story!

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**Ino the Matchmaker**

_Part 1: The First Match_

Chapter 2

The next day, Ino was gone. Temari would never admit it, but she was glad she was gone. The first thing that Temari did after she ate her lunch was look for Sakura. She finally found her outside with Gaara, Shukaku, & Ryuu. She hated to pull her away from them, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

"Hey, Sakura," she called to the pink haired girl, "can I talk to you alone for a moment?"

"Is that okay with you guys?" she asked the others. When they nodded their heads that it was okay, she replied, "Sure," & went with Temari. When they were a safe distance away from the others, Sakura said, "This is about your crush on Shikamaru, isn't it?"

"How did you know it was about that?" she asked in amazement.

"I have my sources," Sakura replied, smiling. "Now tell me what's going on." Temari told her the entire story.

"What do I do?" Temari asked her in dismay when she finished her story. "Urgh! What did Gaara mean? Sakura, I've never felt this way before. I just feel so clueless, so helpless. I'm not used to feeling this way about a boy." Sakura smiled.

"All girls feel this way at some point in their life," Sakura explained to the older girl. "It's nothing to be afraid of. As for what Gaara meant, I don't even pretend to know what's running through that boy's mind when he says some of the things he does. What do you think he meant?"

"I think that he meant that Shikamaru liked me back," she replied. "As much as I want to believe that, I know that it can't be true, no matter how much I want to believe that it is. He likes Ino, not me." Temari sighed. "Why does it have to be like this?"

"It will all work out in the end, Tem. You'll see," Sakura said as the bell rang. "We better get to class."

"I hope so," Temari said as they headed into the building for fiifth period. "By the way, are you still coming over after school today?"

"Yes," Sakura replied, blushing.

"There's no reason to blush, Sakura. Gaara won't be there. Kiba & Kankuro will be there but Thing Two (A/N----SEE: 1 at the bottom) won't be," Temari said, chuckling at her friend.

"Really? Where will he be?" Sakura asked.

"He has a skating competition with Ryuu & Shukaku tomorrow. He's staying over at Shukaku's tonight," Temari explained. "I'd have thought he would've told you by now." Sakura sighed.

"He usually does, but he's been really distant lately," the girl replied quietly. "It's kinda been bugging me, but I'm sortta afraid to ask him what's wrong."

"There's no reason to be afraid," Temari said, smiling at her. "Gaara would never hurt you. He really lo- cares about you, Sakura. Trust me." She walked off in the direction of her algebra class. Once she got to class, she sat down in her normal seat in the dark corner of the room behind Shikamaru. She had just sat down when the bell rang & Shikamaru passed her a note.

This is odd, she thought as she unfolded the note. He usually sleeps during this class.

'You've seemed really distant today,' she read. 'Is something wrong? Please tell me if something is.' Temari smiled. He was worried about her. She wanted to tell him the entire truth. She couldn't exactly tell him, "I want you to break up with Ino because I love you." She just couldn't so it. Actually, she thought, why shouldn't I tell him how I feel? If he really likes me more than I think, like Gaara said, then maybe he loves me back. She sighed & decided to hint at it instead.

* * *

_Well, there's this guy that I like. The thing is, I don't think he likes me back because he has a much prettier, popular girlfriend. He would never fall for me._

**Why do you think that? You're the prettiest girl I've ever met.**

_*surprised/blush* Do you really think so?_

**Yes, I do.**

_*shy smile* Thank you_.

**Hey, do you think that I could come over after school today?**

_Sakura's coming over this afternoon so I'd have to ask her, but it's fine with me if you want to._

**No problem. I've gotta go see Ino right after school, so I wouldn't be able to come over immediately anyways. **

_K. That's fine. It will be nice to hang out without Ino around._

**I'm thinking about breaking up with her.**

_Really? Why?_

**She's been getting to clingy. It's getting to be troublesome.**

_Is that why you want to go see her after school? To break up with her?_

**Yeah. I know that she doesn't truly care about me anyways. To be honest, I've found somebody beter than her. Much more down to earth.**

Before Temari could ask who it was, the bell rang & Shikamaru rushed out of the class room to sixth period. _Oh well, _she thought_. I'll find out after school. I better ask Sakura before next period if it's okay for Shika to come over._

_

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_

A/N:

1: Thing One & Thing Two are nicknames Temari gave Kankuro & Gaara after she started taking care of them when they left thier abusive father (SEE Chapter 1). Thing One is Kankuro & Thing Two is Gaara.

* * *

**Shifter of Time:** Yeah, I know it's kinda short but school's out now so the next chapter should be longer.

**Weaver of Light:** By the way, we are working on a new story about the akatsuki & thier fears. She should have it done & posted by next week.

**Shifter of Time:** I should also get the next chapter up about that time as well but no promises. In the mean time though, REVIEW!!!! I need my cookies!


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